• 'Title will give a lot of younger guys the winning habit'
• Retired Brian O'Driscoll backs team to do more special things
When it was over, Ireland's players took a slow lap around the ground. They were not seeking honour, just showing appreciation for the thousands of fans in the stands who had leant them such lusty support. In all the excitement the squad started to scatter, some skipping off to find their families, others stopping to pose for photos, a few falling into the arms of the coaching staff. Before long there were only two stragglers still walking the white lines.
Paul O'Connell and Brian O'Driscoll moved in step with each other, at their own easy pace. Too tired to leap, too sore to run, too old to rush. They took it slow, made sure to soak it all in. Precious moments, old pros know, should be savoured, lest they get lost in the tumult.
The two of them have each endured too many defeats to squander the sensations of such successes. There have been, O'Driscoll admitted, "a lot of nearlys" along the way. "So many seconds along the years, and so many disappointments."
Odd that they should be on his mind at such a time, although of course they are the counterpoint to the nights like these, which have been rarer than he would like, and scarcer, surely, than he must have imagined after he scored his hat-trick in this same stadium back in 2000. O'Driscoll's career has been bitter and sweet in almost equal measure. He won 82 of those 141 Tests, or 58%. Against France, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the three British teams, the figures are 43 of 99, or 44%.
The measure of O'Driscoll's career is not in only the matches he has won, just as his contribution on the pitch is about so much more than the number of tries he scored. It has been marked by the ferocity with which he fought against defeat, the grace with which he accepted it and the character he showed in recovering from it. As Joe Schmidt said, "he deserves what he has earned."
Still, one solitary Six Nations title was scant reward for such a player and would have left the balance of his achievements a little out of kilter. He felt that himself – which was one reason why he decided to postpone his retirement and play on for this one last season – and so did everyone else. Which is why no one, not even the odd one-eyed Englishmen, would begrudge him this last hurrah. "Next year Brian O'Driscoll won't be here," said Philippe Saint-André with a wry smile. "So maybe then the gods of rugby will be on our side." On Saturday, he suggested, they were only ever going to be with O'Driscoll.
If O'Driscoll is done, O'Connell will play on. He has clearly made a deal with himself and his family, much as O'Driscoll did in 2013, in the expectation of a final reckoning, another crack at the greatest reward of all – the World Cup. Which is a stiffer target still than the two O'Driscoll set himself of beating the All Blacks last autumn and winning the Six Nations this spring. Ireland have never been beyond the quarter-finals. O'Connell wants to put that right.
And now, under Joe Schmidt, he thinks they have a shot. The coach knows how to create winning teams, with a Top 14 title in 2010, the Heineken Cup in 2011 and 2012, the Pro12 and the Challenge Cup in 2013, and now the Six Nations in 2014, he has won trophies in each of the last five seasons. Ireland will be in a pool with France and Italy.
Win it and they will, most likely, meet Argentina in the quarter-finals, then whichever of Australia, England, and Wales wins Pool A. What pleased O'Connell most about this Six Nations was not the title, or the send-off for O'Driscoll, but the fact that "it will give a lot of younger guys in the squad that winning habit – and that is an important thing to have." O'Driscoll's generation, it has to be said, never quite acquired it.
Schmidt, O'Connell says, "has made a massive impact." The Leinster players in the squad had told him about the qualities the coach would bring. Now he knows they weren't exaggerating. "There is real clarity about what we are doing," O'Connell added. "People know their role. That's what we have managed in the last few months. Clarity about what we are doing and what players need to do to be selected." O'Driscoll echoed that.
"We know what way we want to play the game," he said. "I just think he [Schmidt] instils a lot confidence in those around him with his philosophy, his strategy, and his detail. People buy into that. Couple it with the natural ability of the guys playing today and I think that's a good formula." This Ireland side are, O'Driscoll thinks, "a great team that has the massive potential to go on to do more special things."
For now, though, they are still busy celebrating. The party that started on Saturday ran on through the weekend and will stretch into St Patrick's Day.
And while O'Connell and O'Driscoll were in the thick of the revelry, there is no doubt that by the time that lap was over, the thoughts of these two old team-mates had already started to turn elsewhere, one to challenges ahead, the other back to glories behind.
*France* Dulin; Huget, Bastareaud, Fickou (Mermoz, 75), Médard; Talès, Machenaud (Doussain, 66); Domingo (Debaty, 42), Szarzewski (Guirado, 68), Mas (Slimani, 36), Papé (capt), Maestri (Flanquart, 52), Picamoles (Vahaamahinha, 68), Lapandry (Lauret, 75), Chouly.
*Tries* Dulin, Szarzewski *Cons* Machenaud 2. *Pens* Machenaud 2.
*Ireland* R Kearney; Trimble, O'Driscoll, D'Arcy (McFadden, 66), D Kearney; Sexton (Madigan, 68), Murray (Reddan, 63); Healy (McGrath, 70), Best (Cronin, 70), Ross (Moore, 63), Toner, O'Connell (capt), O'Mahoney (Henderson, 63), Henry, Heaslip
*Tries* Sexton 2, Trimble *Cons* Sexton 2 *Pen* Sexton.
*Referee* S Walsh (Aus). *Attendance* 80,000. Reported by guardian.co.uk 8 hours ago.
• Retired Brian O'Driscoll backs team to do more special things
When it was over, Ireland's players took a slow lap around the ground. They were not seeking honour, just showing appreciation for the thousands of fans in the stands who had leant them such lusty support. In all the excitement the squad started to scatter, some skipping off to find their families, others stopping to pose for photos, a few falling into the arms of the coaching staff. Before long there were only two stragglers still walking the white lines.
Paul O'Connell and Brian O'Driscoll moved in step with each other, at their own easy pace. Too tired to leap, too sore to run, too old to rush. They took it slow, made sure to soak it all in. Precious moments, old pros know, should be savoured, lest they get lost in the tumult.
The two of them have each endured too many defeats to squander the sensations of such successes. There have been, O'Driscoll admitted, "a lot of nearlys" along the way. "So many seconds along the years, and so many disappointments."
Odd that they should be on his mind at such a time, although of course they are the counterpoint to the nights like these, which have been rarer than he would like, and scarcer, surely, than he must have imagined after he scored his hat-trick in this same stadium back in 2000. O'Driscoll's career has been bitter and sweet in almost equal measure. He won 82 of those 141 Tests, or 58%. Against France, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the three British teams, the figures are 43 of 99, or 44%.
The measure of O'Driscoll's career is not in only the matches he has won, just as his contribution on the pitch is about so much more than the number of tries he scored. It has been marked by the ferocity with which he fought against defeat, the grace with which he accepted it and the character he showed in recovering from it. As Joe Schmidt said, "he deserves what he has earned."
Still, one solitary Six Nations title was scant reward for such a player and would have left the balance of his achievements a little out of kilter. He felt that himself – which was one reason why he decided to postpone his retirement and play on for this one last season – and so did everyone else. Which is why no one, not even the odd one-eyed Englishmen, would begrudge him this last hurrah. "Next year Brian O'Driscoll won't be here," said Philippe Saint-André with a wry smile. "So maybe then the gods of rugby will be on our side." On Saturday, he suggested, they were only ever going to be with O'Driscoll.
If O'Driscoll is done, O'Connell will play on. He has clearly made a deal with himself and his family, much as O'Driscoll did in 2013, in the expectation of a final reckoning, another crack at the greatest reward of all – the World Cup. Which is a stiffer target still than the two O'Driscoll set himself of beating the All Blacks last autumn and winning the Six Nations this spring. Ireland have never been beyond the quarter-finals. O'Connell wants to put that right.
And now, under Joe Schmidt, he thinks they have a shot. The coach knows how to create winning teams, with a Top 14 title in 2010, the Heineken Cup in 2011 and 2012, the Pro12 and the Challenge Cup in 2013, and now the Six Nations in 2014, he has won trophies in each of the last five seasons. Ireland will be in a pool with France and Italy.
Win it and they will, most likely, meet Argentina in the quarter-finals, then whichever of Australia, England, and Wales wins Pool A. What pleased O'Connell most about this Six Nations was not the title, or the send-off for O'Driscoll, but the fact that "it will give a lot of younger guys in the squad that winning habit – and that is an important thing to have." O'Driscoll's generation, it has to be said, never quite acquired it.
Schmidt, O'Connell says, "has made a massive impact." The Leinster players in the squad had told him about the qualities the coach would bring. Now he knows they weren't exaggerating. "There is real clarity about what we are doing," O'Connell added. "People know their role. That's what we have managed in the last few months. Clarity about what we are doing and what players need to do to be selected." O'Driscoll echoed that.
"We know what way we want to play the game," he said. "I just think he [Schmidt] instils a lot confidence in those around him with his philosophy, his strategy, and his detail. People buy into that. Couple it with the natural ability of the guys playing today and I think that's a good formula." This Ireland side are, O'Driscoll thinks, "a great team that has the massive potential to go on to do more special things."
For now, though, they are still busy celebrating. The party that started on Saturday ran on through the weekend and will stretch into St Patrick's Day.
And while O'Connell and O'Driscoll were in the thick of the revelry, there is no doubt that by the time that lap was over, the thoughts of these two old team-mates had already started to turn elsewhere, one to challenges ahead, the other back to glories behind.
*France* Dulin; Huget, Bastareaud, Fickou (Mermoz, 75), Médard; Talès, Machenaud (Doussain, 66); Domingo (Debaty, 42), Szarzewski (Guirado, 68), Mas (Slimani, 36), Papé (capt), Maestri (Flanquart, 52), Picamoles (Vahaamahinha, 68), Lapandry (Lauret, 75), Chouly.
*Tries* Dulin, Szarzewski *Cons* Machenaud 2. *Pens* Machenaud 2.
*Ireland* R Kearney; Trimble, O'Driscoll, D'Arcy (McFadden, 66), D Kearney; Sexton (Madigan, 68), Murray (Reddan, 63); Healy (McGrath, 70), Best (Cronin, 70), Ross (Moore, 63), Toner, O'Connell (capt), O'Mahoney (Henderson, 63), Henry, Heaslip
*Tries* Sexton 2, Trimble *Cons* Sexton 2 *Pen* Sexton.
*Referee* S Walsh (Aus). *Attendance* 80,000. Reported by guardian.co.uk 8 hours ago.